Indoor positioning systems enable a user's mobile device position to be determined within an indoor location based on measurements relative to known communication equipment. Some indoor positioning systems may use radio frequency devices throughout an indoor location. However, lighting devices are also used in indoor positioning systems. For indoor positioning service, the luminaires may transmit information via modulated light and/or communicate with a mobile device via radio frequency transceivers included in the luminaires. When used in an indoor positioning system, the location of the luminaire within an indoor location allows for a more accurate indoor position determination since the location of the luminaires are typically fixed according to an installation plan.
However, there may be times when luminaires are not installed according to the installation plans. For example, luminaires may be installed out of position due to a measurement error, installation error or the like. If the installation error affects position determination, allowing the installation error to perpetuate may have adverse effects on not only the position determination but also the user's experience with the positioning system as well as any business or event operating in the indoor location.
The light fixture position map or installation map may typically be presented in blueprints generated via computer-aided drafting software. Such mapping requires specialized software executed by a computer to render the map on a full-scale monitor or the like and/or update information, such as position information, in the light fixture position map or installation map.
Alternatively or additionally, indoor surveying techniques are applied to determine the precise locations of the RF-enabled luminaires in the ceiling. However, these indoor surveying techniques may require complicated devices, such as a theodolite, laser ranging devices, or the like, that may require specialized training and be time-consuming to operate to obtain the required measurements.
In addition, position determination functionality may be useful in commissioning of devices for use in an indoor positioning system, such as light fixtures in a lighting-based RF indoor positioning system. However, present commissioning systems and processes are labor-intensive and time-consuming. For example, present commissioning systems and processes require a commissioning system operator to stand with a portable device directly under each luminaire in a facility to confirm the light fixture's identity and location. These prior RF-based commissioning techniques typically take a number of days to complete a commissioning process in a large retail establishment from a light map (due to the large number of light fixtures) because each fixture to be commissioned has to be addressed individually and in turn
Furthermore, these prior RF-based commissioning techniques do not enable the generation of a representation of the locations of the light fixtures, for example, via a graphical display of the locations of the luminaires within a premises.